There are two days of the year that I find particularly challenging, and have had some serious battles with: Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve. We all know and are told how we’re supposed to feel on those two days: madly in love on Valentine’s Day, surrounded by bouquets of flowers, with enough chocolates to keep you with a mouthful of chocolate for a year, or if you’re a single woman, maybe an engagement ring. And married or single, the man you love is supposed to come through on Valentine’s Day and prove that he adores you. Yeah, well, good luck to you!!! Most of the men I know, married or not, either forget the day, or avoid it like the plague. And as one of my men friends says, guys just don’t care about chocolates and flowers. (I won’t tell you what he said they really do care about, you can figure that one out for yourself, but it was neither chocolates, nor flowers, no surprise there). So let’s face it, the chances of Valentine’s Day being fabulous are not fantastic. I got one marriage proposal on Valentine’s Day which resulted in 18 years of marriage and 8 kids, so I figure I used up all my tickets on that one, and Valentine’s Day hasn’t been too impressive ever since. I can live with it. » read more »
Archive for 2011
The Big One: Round One
Posted on December 19, 2011
Whatever your religious or non-religious convictions, the holidays hit most of us pretty hard. I know very few people who can thread their way through these loaded days, go on with their golf game, reading the newspaper, or cleaning their oven, without being at least somewhat impacted by these important days. (And if you can get by without being shaken up by them, more power to you!!!). It’s not just about the hype of what we’re supposed to expect, or how great it’s going to be (maybe), or the present you desperately want (and you get a poinsettia instead, or a fruitcake—I HATE fruitcake!! It’s not chocolate. If I’m going to pile on calories, let it be on something chocolate, not dried fruit). Our expectations start building in our childhoods, and even as adults, there’s a little kid in us that wants it to be perfect, for Santa to know just what we want and show up with it, and all the people we love to be nice to us. Sometimes all of that happens, and sometimes it just doesn’t, and when it doesn’t, we get sad. And important holidays seem to magnify everything we feel: Either REALLY happy, or really sad. » read more »
Filed Under Family, Holidays, Uncategorized | 10 Comments
The Best is Yet to Come
Posted on December 12, 2011
Hi Everyone,
Like everyone else, I get down in the dumps sometimes, with life’s up and downs (and sometimes more downs than ups). And we all have our ways of dealing with it, and how we pull ourselves out of a slump….talk to a friend, indulge ourselves for a while (sometimes I go shopping when I’m feeling sorry for myself…buying shoes can cheer me up). Other times, it takes more effort to rev our engines up again. When a slew of things knock us down, it can take a while to get back up. And although it’s not for everyone, I’ve mentioned before that I’m religious. That’s a very personal choice, and it works for me, and keeps me afloat, on a daily basis, and particularly in bad times. I don’t sell it to anyone, it just works for me. I’ve been married to an atheist, and a non-practicing Catholic, and I’ve never expected anyone (not even my children) to follow what I do. It is an entirely personal choice. So I’m not selling it to you either. » read more »
Filed Under Uncategorized | 5 Comments
Something New and Different (and Very Fun!!)
Posted on December 5, 2011
A friend of mine recently embarked on a new hobby, and invited me to come and have a look. He has taken to flying model airplanes, which sounded fun and intriguing, and definitely new to me. (I’d never seen it done before). I’ve heard of places where men gather to fly them, but had never seen it, so with a certain amount of curiosity, I decided to tag along on a quiet weekend. And Wow!!! What a lot of fun!!!
I’m not ‘technical’ by nature, and I suspect that most/many women aren’t. » read more »
Filed Under Hobbies | 2 Comments
Minnie Mouse
Posted on November 28, 2011
Hi Everyone,
If you’ve read my blog before, you know that my family and I are dog lovers. We have a motley assortment of breeds, two of my daughters have teacup Chihuahuas (that’s the smallest size), we’ve had a flock of miniature Dachshunds over the years (really wonderful dogs!!! But they are barky, and I have a hard time with dogs that bark a lot. I like sleepy breeds, so they don’t drive me crazy while I write). One of my sons has always had Boston Bulldog Terriers, who have always been the sweetest natured dogs in our family, two of my other sons have had Jack Russells, one has a Black Lab (the only big dog in the group), another daughter has a Yorkshire Terrier (that looks like a little Teddy Bear), and my oldest daughter and I have miniature Brussels Griffons (who look like Ewoks). Brussels Griffs really work for me because they are a peaceful, sleepy breed, and they’re happy to snore loudly in my office while I work. I had a Maltese once that didn’t work out for me because she was turbo charged and jet propelled and l0 hours later on any given day, she was still happily chewing through the wires of my phone or destroying the room. We had terrible luck with a French Bulldog who killed one of our other dogs, which was awful. And we had an English Bulldog for a short time once, who was too aggressive with our older dogs and didn’t work out either. I’m now into my second generation of Brussells Griffons, so I really do love them. I grew up with Pugs, whom I love too (but aren’t as easy as the Brussels Griffs, and are generally bigger than the Griffs). So that gives you an idea of just how doggy we are!!! Very!! » read more »
Filed Under Dogs | 10 Comments
Uh Oh…….Here They Come Again!!!
Posted on November 21, 2011
Hi Everyone,
For the past several years, I’ve been spending Halloween in Europe, and finally this year, the inevitable happened….with one ‘child’ (my youngest) a senior in college, four others in their early twenties, and the oldest three grown up and married…..NONE of my children dressed up for Halloween this year. I never thought that day would come, and just thinking about it, a bevy of their costumes come to mind….the Octopus in Little Mermaid…..the Little Mermaid herself….(the hooker in “Pretty Woman”…oops), witches, nuns, the year my oldest daughter dressed up as a pumpkin, with green dyed hair and an orange face, and then couldn’t get the orange dye off her face for 2 weeks…her boyfriend dressing up as her dog, dropping plastic ‘fleas’ all over the house….vampires, fake blood, and finally, my own Grand Finale dressed as a Whoopi Cushion a few years ago. Definitely, some memorable moments. I’m actually really sad to see this era end. But there it is….no more Halloween costumes for us. It took a while, many, many years in fact. And for all those years, they started planning their Halloween costumes as soon as summer came to an end. » read more »
Filed Under Family, Holidays | 9 Comments
Awww……Come On!!!
Posted on November 14, 2011
As I’ve often mentioned, I love going to art fairs in Paris (or anywhere else for that matter. I went to the art fair to end all art fairs, the most illustrious one, in Basel, Switzerland last year. And have gone to fairs in London, New York, San Francisco, and LA. I thoroughly enjoy them all). I went to three this past weekend, in Paris, one of which is very respected and highly regarded and I go every year and enjoy it. And the other two are smaller and lesser known. I enjoy the smaller art fairs a lot too. One of my passions is art, and since I still miss my art gallery, which I closed a few years ago, I love seeing what’s happening in the art world. And I still curate one show a year for a wonderful gallery in San Francisco, who very generously has me curate a show for them every year. It keeps my hand in the art world. There is an art fair in Paris in the spring that I particularly love, but the one I just went to is a great one too. » read more »
Filed Under Art, Paris | 5 Comments
Paris in the Fall
Posted on November 7, 2011
Fall is definitely here, in Paris. Leaves are blowing around on the ground, it has been periodically very chilly, with the occasional warmer day in between. But Fall is definitely in the air. I love being here then…..and in the irresistible Paris spring……and in the snow in winter. What’s not to love in Paris??? It’s so incredibly beautiful. The buildings, the parks, the balmy weather in spring and fall, the gorgeous snow that always seems so romantic to me. » read more »
Filed Under Music, Paris, Writing | 7 Comments
Music in the Studio
Posted on October 31, 2011
Hi, Everybody!!
Just a quick update on my song lyric writing activities. When I got to Paris this time, we worked in the studio for days, recording our songs for ‘demos’ (CD’s that play our songs). We recorded 9 songs, mostly ballads, and we’ve written 11 more than that. It was a fascinating experience, and soooooo much fun for me. The technical aspects are very complicated and I’m learning a lot about music, recording, composing, and writing lyrics. I am thoroughly loving the experience, and I’m working with a wonderful team, of 3 composers, 7 musicians, and a young French singer, who is bi-lingual. So we are recording songs in English and French, and I’ve written the lyrics to each song in both languages, so we have options. » read more »
Filed Under Music | 7 Comments
More on Music
Posted on October 24, 2011
As I said, I seem to be in a music mode at the moment. I am working on a book, but very excited about the lyrics I wrote this summer. I hope you’ll be hearing more about that soon.
Meanwhile, I have one daughter who, like her older brother Nick was, is obsessed with music. She has very definite, distinctive tastes, is knowledgeable about current music, and seems to know every band playing. She goes out to some form of music show every night (she’s a senior in college). Music is her passion!!! She also knows all the venues, and she never invites me to join her at the concerts and shows she goes to. That’s HER world!!! And I respect that. But recently, she made an exception, and invited me to join her at a concert on her birthday, along with some of her friends. (I almost never achieve ‘cool’ status when my kids are younger. I only get slightly more ‘cool’ as they get older!! And more tolerant!!). I was very excited to be invited to a concert with her, and intrigued that it was going to be at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. I’ve heard about it for years, and it is a very famous venue. I had no idea what to expect, and was curious to see it. But how special or exciting could a music venue/concert hall be? The answer to that is ‘Very’. » read more »
Filed Under Music, Uncategorized | 5 Comments